About Linfield

About Linfield

Pre-July 2009 Press Archives

Enter a search word and press "search"

Press Releases

5/1/2008 Where are they now? Dave Gilbert

Dave Gilbert may be retired, but this longtime newspaper man is never far from writing.

Gilbert, professor emeritus of mass communication, shared his real-world knowledge of the news industry with Linfield students for 15 years before retiring in 2003. Even now, he continues to write. He recently finished his third novel. All three have been accepted by an agency.

Throughout his career, Gilbert transitioned from the newsroom to the classroom and back again, fulfilling stints at the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, the Boulder Daily Camera and the Albany Democrat-Herald.

When the newspaper industry computerized in the 1970s, Gilbert, then a member of the faculty at the University of Wyoming, took a year's leave to learn the new technology.

"Here I was still working and teaching students on a typewriter," he said.

At the end of his leave, he didn't return to Wyoming. He spent the next decade at the Albany Democrat Herald, rising to the rank of city editor, before returning to academia as part of the Linfield faculty in 1988.

Gilbert has fond memories of his former Linfield students and said he was inspired by many of his colleagues.

"My students are just marvelous individuals," he said. "I do miss the people. It was a privilege to work at Linfield because of my wonderful colleagues. I felt so lucky to be among them."

He and his wife, Julie, spend their time caring for their animals – dogs and horses – and 19 acres of timberland near Dallas. Avid trail riders, they regularly explore a network of paths on their own area and in the Cascades. Gilbert also enjoys wild mushroom hunting and woodworking.

The two are avid travelers. Last year, they spent three weeks in Costa Rica, exploring the country from the far north to the south. This spring, they spent two weeks camping and hiking in wilderness areas of Death Valley. Gilbert plans to revisit some old haunts in Alaska in the fall.

"It's a good life," he said. "As much as possible, our lives are spent outdoors."